Amelia May Frost 1st prize 11-13 year old category
The Last Fire Witch
On
the day the baby Princess of Hawtherdom arrives, the village is expecting to
rejoice, but a mysterious figure can be seen at the top of the mountain who
will change the course of her life. Only one Fire Witch remains after
years of rivalry with the evil Ice Witches. The Fire Witch must
regain her powers by recovering the stolen Fire Ruby in order to
survive. Will she have the strength to pass the challenges in
time? What other surprises will she face?
I Departure
& Arrival
On
the top of the largest mountain in Hawtherdom, a shadowy woman stood staring at
the village, her long red flowing hair billowing behind her. She felt a
sharp stabbing in her heart. Her wings bristled. She swooped away
with sadness. The horn sounded. The whole village was gathered
around the entrance of the castle waiting to hear news. Everyone knew
that the Queen was having a baby. The next day was the terrible
day. The night had been long, the Queen suffered. After hours of
screaming, the baby had survived, but sadly the Queen had not. The King
himself solemnly stepped out of the castle to announce the arrival and
departure to the eager crowds. The next day, the King invited everyone in
the village to the Queen’s funeral. The baby, only one day old, had not a
clue what was going on. Ten years later, the baby was now a beautiful
young lady named Charlotte. She was a mischievous girl with long, black
hair and emerald green eyes. Everyone absolutely adored her. There
was a certain kind of magical magnetism about the child. On the day
of Charlotte’s tenth birthday, the mysterious woman once again watched down
over the village from the mountain. The King’s enemy, Duke Gustav and his
men arrived in their hundreds, seeking revenge on what the King did to him
twenty years ago. In his youth, as an arrogant and handsome young Prince,
the King had stolen a rare crystal for his mother’s birthday. Whilst he
and his troops were making their way home, the Duke’s brother had intervened,
which led to a violent clash during which, the Duke’s brother had been
killed. The King suspected why they had come. They had come for
Charlotte.
II Time
Stands Still
The
woman on the mountain saw all that was happening. She knew what she had
to do. She flew down to the village. It was a long way from the
mountain. She hoped she would arrive in time to save the King and the
Princess. She streaked past trees and houses, not even stopping to take a
breath, then suddenly, everything stood still. It was like the Earth had
stopped working. Everything was quiet and peaceful – no sound at
all. Everyone was as still as a statue as the woman was still soaring and
diving. With one click of her fingers, this magical being had paused
time, which meant she would be able to save everyone. Finally, she had
arrived at the village. Just another click of her fingers and everything
was back to normal except… Despite her best efforts, she had been just
seconds too late. The King had been stabbed at the last moment by his
arch nemesis, the Duke. Princess Charlotte was lying on the floor sobbing
uncontrollably. She had now lost both her father and her mother.
Who would look after her now?
III The
Last Fire Witch
The
poor girl had her hand placed gently on her father’s heart. The woman
also shed a tear at the sight of this devastating scene that she had been
unable to prevent. Soon the woman was sat next to Charlotte and she said
“I am so sorry for your loss. Your father wanted me to continue to look
after you”. Charlotte looked up at the woman and suddenly leaped onto
her, giving her a great big hug, relieved she was not alone. “What is
your name?” asked Charlotte. “I am Garnet Leviathon”. “Why do you
have wings?” asked Charlotte. “Because I’m a witch…the last Fire Witch”
replied Garnet. “Are you evil, aren’t witches bad?” questioned Charlotte. “No
of course not”, chuckled Garnet. Charlotte sighed with relief and
smiled. “There is one important thing I need to tell you. I am also
your Godmother! I met your mother when we were young and we were very
close. She and your father always wanted me to look out for you, so here
I am”. Charlotte gaped and stumbled back a few steps before steadying
herself. This was a lot of new information to grapple with.
IV Christopher
After
Charlotte had processed what she had been told, the two sat together to talk
more and get to know each other. Charlotte learned that Garnet had a son
named Christopher who was fifteen. “Would you like to meet him?” “Oh yes
please!” exclaimed Charlotte. Having felt so alone after the death of her
father, she could not wait to gather a new family. Garnet grabbed
Charlotte’s arm. “Hold on tight, we are going to fly”. Off they
flew, over oceans, cities, mountains and fresh green rainforests and then… BUMP,
BASH, CRASH! They finally landed in New Zealand, near to a small thatched
cottage by a trickling stream. This must be where Christopher lives,
thought Charlotte, somewhat amazed by how quickly they had travelled to the
other side of the World. They knocked on the door and a friendly face
with bright blue eyes answered. “This is my son, Christopher.
Christopher, this is Princess Charlotte”, Garnet winked. Charlotte was
absolutely gobsmacked at the sight of him. He was completely different from
how she imagined him to be and nothing like his mother. He had pointed
ears and a quiver on his back. “He---l--lo”, stammered Charlotte.
She did not know what to say, she did not want to sound rude. What she
finally awkwardly mumbled was “You…um…are….er….very….ii-interesting”.
“Ha! I get that a lot. I am half sprite, half witch. It makes
for an interesting mix. Lots of people are shocked when they see me”,
chortled Christopher. “Don’t worry, I’m very friendly”. “Right, we have
something important to do Chris. We are going to need your help”, stated
Garnet.
V The
Cave of Delamonjesolimancalaa
Red
faced and puffing, an out of breath Charlotte followed Garnet and Christopher
through a thick forest. They were heading to an ancient and secret cave
of wonders – originally created by the mountain ogres for the Fire Witches when
there were many more of Garnet’s kind. Garnet had explained that their
mission was to reclaim the magical ruby, rightfully belonging to the Fire
Witches, enabling her to regain her full powers that had been dwindling in
recent years. “Are we nearly there yet?”, Charlotte moaned. “Around
eight more miles to go”, Garnet replied cheerily. “WHAT!” screamed Charlotte,
beside herself with fatigue. Several hours later, Christopher spotted
what appeared to be the mouth of the cave built into the side of a mountain
deep inside the forest. There was a huge boulder blocking the
entrance. After searching for a while, Charlotte uncovered a secret
passage around the side of the mountain, which led them to a narrow path
through a dark hidden passageway into the rear of the cave. As they
approached, there came a great booming voice. “Who dares enter?”
“It’s Garnet and Christopher Leviathon”. “And Princess Charlotte” she chimed
in. “State your purpose”. “We are here to collect the great treasure”, Garnet
announced. “Be quick Fire Witch, you have one hour”, snarled the voice.
VI Challenges
There came an earth-shattering noise and the boulder separating the two inner
rooms rolled to make way for the visitors, revealing a labyrinth of
deathtraps. The three looked at each other uneasily and walked cautiously
into the candlelit space ahead. “There are levels you need to complete
and they become increasingly challenging, so pay close attention”, ordered Garnet.
“The last time I was here, I had my full powers, so overcoming these hurdles
was not difficult”. First, they came across a huge pit of bubbling
lava. They all stared, frozen like statues. Suddenly, a wave of
lava surged from beneath them, rising up. “Wings!”, yelled Chris.
Desperate to escape the flames, a set of flaky, mint green wings appeared out
of his back and he soared out of harm’s way. Garnet grabbed Charlotte off
the ground, narrowly missing a spurt of red-hot lava and placed a shaken and
pale girl safely on the other side of the pit. “I-I-I-I can’t do this…”
cried Charlotte. I’m only ten and I don’t have any wings or any powers”.
Next, they came to a huge football pitch sized area of quicksand.
“We are running out of time. You hide here, Charlotte, you will be
safe. We will come back for you as soon as we have the ruby”, assured
Garnet. Charlotte reluctantly agreed, still feeling weak. Chris and
Garnet approached the pool of quicksand and flew over it, looking back to check
Charlotte was still okay before vanishing out of sight. All alone, Charlotte
suddenly felt cold and frightened. She saw shadows moving in the darkness
beside her. Her heart quickened. She looked around and spotted a
massive wooden plank and decided she would follow the others. She pushed
with all her strength, but the plank was too big to move on her own. In
despair, she kicked at it and slumped over it, crying. Suddenly, it swung
across the quicksand, nearly flinging her off. She gripped on tight for
her life. When she came to an abrupt stop, she opened her eyes to find
herself in the middle of the quicksand field. She clambered to her feet
and crawled on her hands and knees along the plank to safety. A
booming voice filled the cave once again. “You have 20 minutes until the
boulder on this cave will close and forever remain shut!” “Come on Garnet, we
have to move faster otherwise we won’t get the ruby.” Chris said. Garnet
nodded, still looking back towards where they had left the frightened Princess.
They began running forward again. In front of them was now an old-
fashioned computer with a little old man sat behind it typing frantically.
Chris gave Garnet a confused look as they walked towards him. “Ahem.”
coughed Garnet. The little old man looked up from his computer and said
in a gruff voice, “Wado you
want?”.
“We were just wondering if you could tell us which direction to find the ruby.” He looked at Garnet and then lifted his arm and pointed to the right. As they began to follow the new path, they bumped into an invisible forcefield, which hurled them backwards and the little old man shouted “STOP! Not so fast”. Garnet and Chris whipped their heads around. Of course, it was never going to be that easy. “First, I need to be sure you are indeed the last Fire Witch. Only a Fire Witch could crack my computer code. If you can, you may pass through the portal to the treasure that rightfully belongs to you”. Garnet stepped tentatively towards the computer to see seven letters in ancient Fire Witch symbols written on the screen. She is confident deciphering the first four symbols, spelling ‘A-N-O-T’ and she recognises the last symbol as ‘R’. She considers what the last two symbols could translate to. Garnet sees a miniscule picture at the bottom of the man’s computer screen with what appeared to be two Fire Witches stood hand in hand. “There’s another?” she mumbles. “ANOTHER! Another – that’s it Chris”. She types it into the computer hopefully. The computer makes a high-pitched trill signifying a positive result and the forcefield disappears. Chris and Garnet exchange looks and run through.
“We were just wondering if you could tell us which direction to find the ruby.” He looked at Garnet and then lifted his arm and pointed to the right. As they began to follow the new path, they bumped into an invisible forcefield, which hurled them backwards and the little old man shouted “STOP! Not so fast”. Garnet and Chris whipped their heads around. Of course, it was never going to be that easy. “First, I need to be sure you are indeed the last Fire Witch. Only a Fire Witch could crack my computer code. If you can, you may pass through the portal to the treasure that rightfully belongs to you”. Garnet stepped tentatively towards the computer to see seven letters in ancient Fire Witch symbols written on the screen. She is confident deciphering the first four symbols, spelling ‘A-N-O-T’ and she recognises the last symbol as ‘R’. She considers what the last two symbols could translate to. Garnet sees a miniscule picture at the bottom of the man’s computer screen with what appeared to be two Fire Witches stood hand in hand. “There’s another?” she mumbles. “ANOTHER! Another – that’s it Chris”. She types it into the computer hopefully. The computer makes a high-pitched trill signifying a positive result and the forcefield disappears. Chris and Garnet exchange looks and run through.
VII The
Other
They
entered a cold room and there it was – the treasure – the lost key to the Fire
Powers – sat on a golden stool, glistening in the moonlight that shone down
through a crack in the mountain. Suddenly, a dark shadow leapt across the
room. Chris jumped, Garnet flinched and... “You can’t get rid of me that
easily!” exclaimed Charlotte. “When you and Chris left, I felt so alone
and terrified, I just had to find a way to follow you. I found a wooden plank
to get across the quicksand. Then I tried to sneak past a little old man
who seemed to be asleep at his computer” explained Charlotte. “He woke up
as I bounced off this strange see-through wall. He told me I could only
enter if I could crack the code. Before I arrived there, I had heard the
word ‘Another’ reverberating around the cave walls and it sounded like you
Garnet, so I assumed that you had cracked the code”. They threw their
arms around each other. Garnet whispered “I’m so glad you are safe”,
squeezing her extra tightly. Charlotte and Garnet turned
together to see Chris, mesmerised by the red glow coming from the giant ruby on
the table. Garnet tilted her head towards the stone, gesturing to
Charlotte to collect it. Charlotte glided slowly over to the little stool
and placed her hands carefully on either side of the ruby. She lifted it
up and as she did so, her hair started flowing wildly behind her. Her
eyes turned a fiery red colour and her feet gently lifted off the floor.
Chris stared, awestruck. An astonished Garnet repeated the code to
herself “Another…”. Eventually, Charlotte gently lowered back down to
where Chris and Garnet stood and tried to understand what had happened.
“Orc’s Alive!” exclaimed Garnet. “You are a Fire Witch Charlotte!”
“WHAT?” blurted Charlotte in disbelief. “Have you ever wondered why
everyone said you were special, why everyone was drawn to you, why they always
said you needed to unlock who you really are?” questioned Garnet. “No.
Well not really. Okay yes I have!” said Charlotte a bit confused. “But, why
me?”Garnet sighed. “Well, I have not exactly been honest with you
Charlotte. You are not my goddaughter. You are in fact my
niece. Your mother was my sister, but she did not have any witch fire or
wings. I have been watching over you closely since you were born, but it
seemed you had no powers either. The power in the ruby has clearly been
waiting for you. You must have needed contact with the ruby for balance
to be restored for you both”.
VIII Fire
and Ice
“Right
so the first thing you do is get a good stance and then just push off with your
feet and remember to bend your knees!” Several weeks later, Garnet was
instructing Charlotte as she tested out her new found Witch skills. “Yes!
I did it I did it I did it I...” 𝘉𝘈𝘚𝘏 … “...did it” mumbled Charlotte. “Ha ha! it’s
okay you’ll get it eventually!” laughed Garnet. “I’ll have one more try” said
Charlotte standing up and brushing off her trousers. “Sorry sweetheart,
the lesson is over. We have to go and meet Chris now. He has
finally found a place to put the ruby to keep it safe forever” Charlotte
and Garnet go to Chris’ thatched cottage and knock on the door, but nobody
answers. “Hmm, that’s strange. Maybe he’s in the bathroom”, said
Garnet. Charlotte turned the door knob and it clicked. “Look Garnet
it’s open!” Charlotte pushed the door and it swung open. To their
horror, there on the floor was Chris with an icicle impaled in his chest,
surrounded by a pool of blood. “NOOOOO!” screamed Garnet with fire
smoldering from every inch of her body. “Who could have done this?”
demanded Charlotte, full of rage at having lost yet another family
member. Garnet took out the icicle and examined it. “Ice witches”,
she spat under her breath, her voice filled with rage. They will pay for
this.
The End

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